What does Waffle House do to the hashbrowns to get them all browned and fried? I've been trying my own at home and although tasty they do not achieve the same color or crispiness. I've been frying with EB, oil or that new coconut spread. Should I simply be coating the pan with about an inch of the stuff to get it browned? More of a deep fry than a pan fry?

_________________Panda With Cookie If I get caught as a fugitive eating chain pizza, its going to be Pizza Hut. -linanilanil

I did some research into this recently. The secret is getting as much water out of the potatoes as possible. You can squeeze water out by pressing them into a ricer, or just into a fine strainer. Or I guess you could probably even wrap them in towels and press them like tofu! I made some real fine crispy hashbrowns last week by just squeezing them into a strainer. I didn't use that much oil.

The only times I've had a truly crispy homemade hashbrown have been the times when I've shredded all the potatoes in a bowl and then pressed the water out of them with a tea towel, paper towels, or cheesecloth. (And in my experience, adding more oil to unsqueezed potato shreds has just made them super-greasy rather than deep-frying them.)

If the water doesn't get pressed out, the potatoes just steam rather than get all righteously crispy and delicious. But that process is time-consuming, and it requires at least ten minutes of foresight, which is why I'm usually eating mediocre and mostly-steamed homemade 'browns.

ETA jinx for stupid me posting without clicking preview and seeing that this has already been covered

ok, here's my method. i shred them and then salt them and let them drain in a strainer with a weight on it. they get cripsy. i once tried to cook them in a waffle maker when i was excited about waffle makers, from which birthed drier less greasy hash.

Joined: Wed Oct 20, 2010 1:23 pmPosts: 563Location: *the* state with the only votes that matter

I use a kitchen towel, put the shredded potatoes in, and twist both ends until no more water comes out. But wait, you're using frozen. Use high heat and give them time. Every time you budge them early, you lose a shot at perfect crispness. And yes, to thin layer.

The only times I've had a truly crispy homemade hashbrown have been the times when I've shredded all the potatoes in a bowl and then pressed the water out of them with a tea towel, paper towels, or cheesecloth. (And in my experience, adding more oil to unsqueezed potato shreds has just made them super-greasy rather than deep-frying them.)

If the water doesn't get pressed out, the potatoes just steam rather than get all righteously crispy and delicious. But that process is time-consuming, and it requires at least ten minutes of foresight, which is why I'm usually eating mediocre and mostly-steamed homemade 'browns.

Yep, this was pretty much my thought. Also, once you finally get them into the pan, don't mess around with them too much. Just let them do their thing and once they're nice and browned, they'll release at their own crispy leisure.

You know, that's what I do with my latkes, and they get pretty crispy. I bet that would work.

ETA latke photo

I just sat down with a bowl of soup, and now I want latkes. Badly.

More on topic: the best hash browns I ever made involved squeezing them to death to get rid of as much water as possible and then cooking them in a very thin layer on slightly *lower* heat than I would normally use, for a long time before flipping. Like 10+ minutes before even peeking to see how done they are.